September 11

[Bodhisattva Babes]

I just noticed that the post I have for my friend David (Seima) Aoyama must have gotten eaten by the server crash awhile ago. David was on his way back to LA after attending a World Peace Conference in Boston through our SGI Buddhist organization. He decided to take an earlier flight home because he wanted to hurry home to see his family. I didn't know until much later that evening that every time I saw the first plane smash into the WTC that I was watching my friend die over and over again. Can't imagine what the families of the victims must feel every time they see the footage.Fortunately, David had spent the summer visiting all of his family in Japan with all of his family from the States. It was the first time in over 20 years that they had held a reunion. His wife had been a stewardess on JAL -- that's how they had met. Friends of hers were killed in a crash in Japan and she decided to leave the field. Because of that and because David flew so much she always treated their parting as if it was the last time they'd ever see each other. His two kids are doing great and have devoted themselves to continuing their father's work.